Yaya and Poppy Come to Town

Last week was great!  Mom and Dad came to South Africa for a surprise visit.  Well we knew Dad was coming, but Mom surprised us at the airport.  We took Isabel and Kylie to pick up a “package” at the airport.  They were clueless as to the real reason that we were going.  When Poppy came out I said, “There’s your package.”  They looked around and never saw a box and kept asking, “Where is the package?”  I said, “That man has it.”  Isabel took a long hard look, and then said in a confused tone, “Poppy?” and then they both ran to him.  It was great!  The next thing you know, Yaya is coming out to surprise us all.

We spent the entire week together.  Got the chance to show them a little bit of where we live.  We went to the Lion and Rhino Park, to Soweto, and to a few of our favorite places to eat.  The day before they left Dad and I went to play golf at the Soweto Country Club.  It’s kind of strange to have it in the middle of Soweto, but a lot of fun. Pretty straight, but very long.  Especially when you hit into the jungle, I mean rough, on each of your second shots.

It was hard to let them go, but we look forward to their next visit in June.  I never thought they would come twice, but they are proving me wrong. Great parents and wonderful grandparents.

Ministry in Soweto

Great story of ministry in Soweto and some of the strange things we encounter here.  Don’t be alarmed it’s just life. 

So, about a week ago Georgia and I began our ministry in Dobsonville.  We were beginning to recruit people to help us with interpreting as we witness and for soccer clubs.  Our team leader asked us to help him out and go speak to a man who has been coming to church.  My plan was to talk to him, share the gospel, see if he was saved, and if he was, then I would talk to him about baptism.

Georgia and I arrived at his home where he and his girlfriend live.  OK, that is how it is here.  It’s strange, but that’s how it is.  We shared the gospel and how to study the Bible and things like that, but never got a clear answer as to if he was saved or not.  The girlfriend in the background kept saying he needs help, etc… and I thought they were going to throw down any minute.  So, we continued talking and I decided to explain baptism anyway just to make sure that they all understood what it was about and that the act of baptism did not actually save you.  We went through all of that and prayed together.  After leaving his home, we were going to set up some final arrangements with schools and he asked if he could come along.  So, we all left together.

On the way to the school, he asked if we could stop buy to see his friends and prove to them that he is going to church, because they didn’t believe him.  We pulled up to this house and noticed it was quite busy.  We followed him to the side yard (kind of an alley) and his friends came out to meet us.  In their hands were some interesting looking cigarettes, that didn’t quite smell like cigarettes either.  One guy stuck his lit “cigarette” in his pocket when he saw me.  That was actually pretty funny.  So, I began to tell them who we were and began to share the gospel with them.  As I was doing so, people kept coming into the shack in the back and left with plastic bags.  So, it seems Georgia and I were sharing the gospel in the middle of multiple drug deals. 

I guess God really can use you anywhere!

Rugby and Soccer in the Same Weekend

So, as far as sports go they are just as crazy about them here as we are in the states.  Fortunately they have very cool sports.  Luckily, this weekend I had the chance to see my two favorite here in South Africa.  A Rugby match on Friday night and a Soccer match on Saturday.

Pretty amazing match on Friday between the Lions (Joburg Team) and the Chiefs.  It turned out to be the highest scoring game ever in the history of the Super 14 league.  We of course left early when our team, the Lions, were losing 65 to 25 or something like that with 20 minutes to go.  Of course when we got home we saw that the final was 72 to 65.  We still lost, but those last 20 minutes would have been amazing to see!  Anyway, for my first professional rugby match it was pretty awesome, except for Kurt thinking the game began at 7 when it really began at 8.  Well, the two hours we had to kill before the game talking and eating were fun.  By the way I love Prego Steak Rolls!

So, Saturday was the big Soweto Darby between the Kaiser Chiefs and the Orlando Pirates.  The stadium was packed and we were about half of the total white population in the stadium.  The game was full on with everyone trying to score.  Too bad no one could hit the net.  Maybe, one day I will actually see a goal scored in South Africa.

Go Lions and Go Pirates!

A Day Full of Surprises

WARNING - OVER 18 ONLY 

Well, I have not updated my blog lately, but I had a pretty interesting day.  Zach and I picked up our national friend Given this morning to head into Dobsonvile.  While Zach and I were waiting in the car, two young men approached us.  We rolled down the window thinking they were selling something and came to find out that they were working for the Health Department of South Africa.  Zach was not really paying attention to what was going on and he took what they gave him.  I noticed the sticker said, “We Can Stop HIV/AIDS” and then I noticed that Zach was holding a package that looked like a small pack of tissues.  As we examined the package more closely we discovered that it was a 10 pack of prophylactics!  Zach promptly threw them at me and we both busted out with laughter.  I of course threw them at Given as he came outside to see why we were laughing.  That was the start to our day.

After a few more laughs we headed into Dobsonville.  The area we are targeting is called Dobsonville Hostel and is made up primarily of Zulus.  We met with a few families and shared the gospel with four different women.  We walked through and found a community center in the middle of the hostel where we may be able to have evangelism events in the future.  Then we headed toward our car.  On the way out Given asked what time it was and we decided that we had time for one more visit.  We walked around the corner and met two women plucking chickens.  Given asked if we could come into talk and they said it was ok.  So, we went in and Given began plucking chickens, so I decided to join in.  So, as Given and I plucked chickens Zach started to tell the women what we were doing and that we would like to begin having Bible studies in this area.  The women agreed to let us begin this Thursday at 10am.  We continued talking with them and plucking chickens and then left so that we could get back for our afternoon duties.

It was a crazy morning, an interesting day, but full of God’s blessings!  Please pray for Bible study this week and that we may continue to teach and build relationships in this area. 

Today, I had my best experience of 2010 so far, and I owe it all to my wonderful mother-in-law.  She sent me Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup and I had my first glass of real chocolate milk since arriving in South Africa.  I am so grateful for three things from America – Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, Grape Jelly, and Duke’s Mayonnaise.  By the way, if you have any of these items lying around in your house taking up precious cabinet space please feel free to send them our way : ). 

Ok, seriously, thank you to everyone who has been so generous in sending us packages from the states.  The girls, Georgia, and I get so excited when we look in the mailbox and find a little slip of paper saying that we have a package from back home.  We are so grateful for the gifts, thoughts, and prayers that all of you have sent our way.

Soweto Evangelism Team Video

Our wonderful team member, Rachel, made a video showing a bit of our life and ministry here in South Africa.  The video is at the top of this blog page and is really great.  It shares many of our prayer needs and the needs of the people here as well.  You'll also see our Bible studies, Girls Club, Soccer Ministries, Church Services, and Baptisms.  I hope that you will enjoy it and share it with others.

Odd Ending to 2009

So, we have left 2009 and have entered 2010 in South Africa.  It's kind of like living in the future since we are 7 hours ahead of our family in South Carolina.  Anyway, Brett, continues to tell me that I am really not in the future.  I guess he is right because I still have trouble predicting the outcome of sporting events and absolutely no luck with lottery numbers (just kidding IMB).  The end of the year was very nice.  We took the girls to a water park in a place called Sun City, and we all had a blast.  That night finished with a blue moon and our blue moon also came with a lunar eclipse.  Pretty cool way to end the year!  Needless to say we were in bed by 10 and asleep way before midnight.  However, I did predict a ball to drop in New York City and was right.  What do you think about that big brother?